Thinking Methods: Creative Problem Solving They further divided the six stages into three phases, as follows: 1. Exploring the Challenge (Objective Finding, Fact Finding, and Problem Finding), Generating Ideas (Idea Finding), and Preparing for Action (Solution Finding and Acceptance Finding). Description: Since the arrival of the now classical Osborn-Parnes structure, any number of academic and business entities have re-sorted and renamed the stages and phases of what we now call the Creative Problem Solving Process (CPS). However, the originators' fundamental approach remains in tact. The Creative Problem Solving Institute of Buffalo, New York, has finessed the Osborn-Parnes process to include a divergent and a convergent stage within each of the six stages. In his 1988 book, Techniques of Structured Problems, Arthur B. Mess FindingData FindingProblem FindingIdea FindingSolution Finding Where to Learn CPS
SCAMPER technique training for lateral thinking The SCAMPER technique uses a set of directed questions which you answer about your probortunity in order to come up with new ideas. The stimulus comes from forcing yourself to answer questions which you would not normally pose. The questions direct you to thinking about a probortunity in ways which typically come up with new ideas. SCAMPER is an acronym which stands for questions relating to the following: In essence you should ask yourself questions relating to each of the SCAMPER words to come up with new ideas. Spend some time developing questions which challenge your current way of thinking. Brainstorming Toolbox software can be used to spark off suitable questions or you can generate your own manually. NB. Please try this technique for yourself and you will certainly improve at coming up with new ideas. To move to the next technique, click on the green door to continue the green (Advanced Brainstorming) tour.
Creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed, such as an idea, a scientific theory, an invention, a literary work, a painting, a musical composition, a joke, etc. Scholarly interest in creativity involves many definitions and concepts pertaining to a number of disciplines: psychology, cognitive science, education, philosophy (particularly philosophy of science), technology, theology, sociology, linguistics, business studies, songwriting, and economics, covering the relations between creativity and general intelligence, mental and neurological processes, personality type and creative ability, creativity and mental health; the potential for fostering creativity through education and training, especially as augmented by technology; and the application of creative resources to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Definition[edit] Aspects[edit] Etymology[edit] History of the concept[edit] Ancient views[edit] The Enlightenment and after[edit] J. J.
PMI Plus, Minus, Interesting Strategy - Virtual Library Share on Facebook and Twitter Determining the Pros and Cons PMI (plus, minus, interesting) is a brainstorming, decision making and critical thinking tool. It is used to encourage the examination of ideas, concepts and experiences from more than one perspective. To complete you make a chart of three columns - “Plus”, “Minus” and “Interesting.”Step 1. Examples of alternative PMI structures References and further readingBonka, C.J. & G. Cathy Costello teacher librarian virtual library Cathy Costello teacher librarian virtual library Cathy Costello library Cathy Costello virtual library Cathy Costello librarian
Category:Creativity Techniques This A to Z of Creativity and Innovation Techniques, provides an introduction to a range of tools and techniques for both idea generation (Creativity) and converting those ideas into reality (Innovation). Like most tools these techniques all have their good and bad points. I like to think of these creativity and innovation techniques as tools in a toolbox in much the same way as my toolbox at home for DIY. It has a saw, spanner, hammer, knife and all sorts of other things in it, they are all very useful, but you have to pick the right tool (creativity / Innovation technique) for each job. This site will try and provide a little guidance along with each tool to let you know whether it's best used for cutting paper or putting in nails. For the future, the aim is to also have sub-categories which will identify Techniques for; Problem Definition - including problem analysis, redifinition, and all aspects associated with defining the problem clearly. Subcategories
Synectics Synectics is a problem solving methodology that stimulates thought processes of which the subject may be unaware. This method was developed by George M. Prince (April 5, 1918 - June 9, 2009)[1] and William J.J. History[edit] The process was derived from tape-recording (initially audio, later video) meetings, analysis of the results and experiments with alternative ways of dealing with the obstacles to success in the meeting. The name Synectics comes from the Greek and means "the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements Gordon and Prince named both their practice and their new company Synectics, which can cause confusion as people not part of the company are trained and use the practice. Theory[edit] Synectics is a way to approach creativity and problem-solving in a rational way. According to Gordon, Synectics research has three main assumptions: One important element in creativity is embracing the seemingly irrelevant. Books[edit] See also[edit] References[edit]
Six tools to improve your creativity during an innovation process — Business Model Innovation Lab | BMI Lab | Spinoff from the University of St.Gallen Mind maps are usually a great way to organize ideas. We can use them to explore associations and divergences between ideas, clustering all those concepts coming from ideation. Mind maps will help to identify underlying trends, cleaning redundancies and narrowing our scope to fewer concepts to work with. Usually, we need to create a mind map to achieve this, although we can also use several prebuilt canvases and tools, such as a customer and business model canvas. Thinking hat The thinking Hat is a popular technique, very useful to explore the upsides and downsides of every idea. Hundred euro test, or idea shopping This tool is very useful for rating ideas. Both kinds of tools, divergent and convergent, are used during different phases of innovation. Moreover, this innovation process is not a linear path. Depending on our goals, we might also create a strategy that mixes both tools, .
SMART Goals - Time Management Training From MindTools.com The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.– Bill Copeland Do you ever feel like you're working hard but not getting anywhere? Maybe you see little improvement in your skills or achievements when you reflect on the last five or 10 years. Or perhaps you struggle to see how you'll fulfil your ambitions during the next few years. Many people spend their lives drifting from one job to another, or rushing around trying to get more done while actually accomplishing very little. Setting SMART goals means you can clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively, and increase your chances of achieving what you want in life. In this article, we'll explore what SMART goals are, and we'll look at how you can use them to achieve your objectives. Click here to view a transcript of this video. What Does SMART Mean? SMART is an acronym that you can use to guide your goal setting. How to Use SMART Paul J. 1.
Brainstorming The Brainstorming (brainstorm) method is a semi-structured creative group activity, used most often in ad-hoc business meetings to come up with new ideas for innovation or improvement. Members of the group are encouraged to put forward ideas about a problem and how it may be solved, in order to generate as many ideas as possible, even if they are not always usable alternatives. The idea behind brainstorming is, that a group of people can achieve a higher (synergy) level of creativity than the sum of the participants separately. Brainstorming Rules Three major rules for a successful brainstorm session are: Participants should be encouraged to come up with as much ideas as possible, however strange they are (there are no bad ideas). Brainstorming hints Some hints for a successful brainstorm session are: Use an experienced facilitator. The effectiveness of brainstorming Book: Michael Michalko - Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity) - More Management Methods, Models and Theory
The content strategy discovery tool In the last year we’ve encountered quite a few new obstacles with =importXML() that mean creating version 3 has been rather challenging. We’ve changed the way this tool operates, switching away from =importXML() and instead, we’re using several different methods for data collection: =ImportFeed() e.g. Pulls the content of RSS feeds directly to Google docs, but can be filtered to return specific properties. In instances where a feed wasn’t available, tools like feed43.com make it really easy to convert any web page to RSS. =ImportHTML() e.g. Extracts content from HTML lists or tables. For us this is still useful as the URLs change based on the user search query, but worth bearing in mind if you’re planning on using this function in the future. =ImportJSON() e.g. Ok, so this one isn’t a standard function in Google Spreadsheets, it uses a very clever custom script from Paul Gambill (developed on ImportJSON by Trevor Lohrbeer) to parse JSON in Google Docs.